Accelerator



Patented Oct. 13, 1931 I entren- STATES:

GEORGE E. TOWNSEND, OEFLUSHING, NEW YORK ACCELERA OR- h 1 Application fil ed ebruar 18, 1928. Serial No. 255,252;

.. This invention relates to accelerators and particularly to devices of this class for use in connection with motor vehicles for actuating the throttle valve of the carburetor to control the engine speed and the object ofthe iii-Q vention is to provide an ec'celerator of the class described withflmeans for, looking or.

retaining the same in dilferent positions of adjustment or operation to. maintain a constant and unfluctuatlng engine speed espec al- 1 ly in operating a vehicle over uneven roadways or highways and to provide a device of.

this classwhich may be readily released from vehiclena still further object being to provide adevice of the class specified, which is so constructed as to form alnatural foot rest portionasan integral part. of the accelerator structure, and whereby the weight of thefoot alone and without the needlof exerting pressure on said footrest portion will'be sufficient to maintain the accelerator in the desired position ofadjustment, the desired result being 2.5 accomplished by rocking the'foot receiving part of the device sidewise or forwardly and backwardly depending upon the particularpanying drawings forma part, which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each :of the views, and in which:

form of accelerator which I employ.

Fig. 2-isa section on the line 22 of Fig.1.

, Fig. 3 is a View of a part of the construction shown in Fig. 1 with parts in a different position and showing a slight modification. V

Fig. 4 is a sectional view ofthe foot board of a motor vehicle showing a modified form with.

its locked or fixed position and moved into a: L different position in the operation of the lowing specification, 'of which the accom Fig. 1 1s a transverse,"sect1onalview of on p x b h p t 16' s s e 1 A flat of accelerator mounted in connection there- Fig@ ,5 is a view similar to -Fig. 4 but show 7 ing another modification; and,

F 6 is 's e n' n he line 6 6 f In Figs. 1, and (if the drawings, 10 represents a suitable'frame or flooring which may constitutethe floorboard of a motor-vehijole. lnFigs. 1 and 2 'of'the drawings, 1 have shown one form of my improved acce1erator which may constitute: the structure of the accelerator pedal or becoupled with a" rod as'indicated at 11;,which in turn is in operative connection with the butterflyva'lve of a carbureter notshown, but well known in the art. improved device as shown-in 3 i said figures consists of a substantially U-' shaped body portion12 provided at its lower end with an internally threadedsleeve 13. formedby bendingthe side wallsinwardly into'tubular form, the adjacent edges of said 7 walls being separated by a supply which is indicated at13a by the non-section portion of said sleeve. i

A bar His riveted or otherwise secured withinthe body 12 andis provided at itslower end, and" within the channel of said body with an outwardly extending. cam face Main connection with whicha similar camface 1564 on' an arml5fis adapted to operate.

The bar l l projects above the top of the'body" 12, and pivoted thereto as seen at 16 is a foot piece' l7 theflatter consisting of a foot rest part 'lza'havin'g a projecting rod 17 b at the. 7 right. hand side thereof as seen'in Fig. 1 and a: "U-shaped bearing gportion 170 riveted, 5

welded-or otherwise securedto the under face of the portion 17a and ,intothe channel in which the upper iend of -the bar 1 1 is'locatedj The arm 15is' mounted within the channel 1 of'the part 170a-ndis pivoted thereto at a shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, underthe comparatively light tension of. said spring, the arm 15 constituting what might be termed a lockarin or member. A'plate 21 is secured 10b use, it has been customary to employ on the footboard of the vehicle, a foot rest arranged ad acent the accelerator button or pedal so that the rocking of the toe portion of the foot from right to leftwith the right hand side of the foot upon the rest would permit of the proper operation or acceleration of the engine of the vehicle. With my construction as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the side of the foot rest 17a, designated at at, namely that to the right of the pivot 16, will be regarded as the foot rest or supporting portion of the 1 device, whereas the other side designated at 092 and at the left of the pivot 16 will constitute a pedal actuating portion of the de vice. In other words, by applying downward pressure with the foot bearing to the left upon m2, the accelerator may freely move upwardly and downwardly through the aperture 10a to accelerate the engine of the vehicle; and at any stage of operation or movement of the pedal, by simply resting the foot on the portion a; of the device, the weight of the foot on the said designated side will cause the.

same to move downwardly, thus advancing the lock arm 15 laterally as indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing to move the same into engagement with the walls 21a of the plate 21 to securely lock and retain the device in the desired position of adjustment. By providing suitable beveled surfaces 14a and 15a of the parts 14 and 15, compensating for the movement of the pivot 18 relatively to the pivot 16 the outer or bearing surface of the arm 15 may move downwardly in parallel relation with reference to the longitudinal plane of the body 12 or the back wall of said body to provide for the engagement of the accelerator with the plate 21 in the same degree of movement of the arm 15 in any adjusted position thereof within the range of adjustment required for the proper operation and acceleration of the engine of the vehicle.

From the foregoing, it will be apparentthat a vehicle be operated and-maintained at a constant speed by allowing the foot to rest upon the portion m of the foot piece 17a and may be readily shifted to other speeds by tilting the foot in thedirection of the portion 002 and allowing the accelerator to move up wardly or to move the same downwardly. In all devices of this kind, the accelerator is held in its uppermost position by a spring 7 of adjustment.

and is lowered against the tension of such spring, but the spring and other mechanisms are not shown in that they are well known to everyone in the art.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings, the outer surface of the arm 15 where it cooperates with the plate 21 is provided with a roughened surface 15?) which may be desirable to insure a more positive grip or locking ofthe device, and retaining the device in predetermined positions v Any suitable means may be employed for the accomplishment of this result,.such as frictional surfaces, but it has been found in practice that plain surfaces with the cam or wedge action provided by the structure disclosed is sufficient to accomplish the desired result, and permits of the finest degrees of adjustment in a freely functioning manner.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, I have shown a slight modification wherein the foot piece 17 is arranged at right angles to the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings and a lip portion 17d is arranged at the long side rather than at the short side thereof as in Fig. 1. With this construction, the foot piece is actuated by what-may be termed a heel and toe movement of the foot; that is to say, in order to lock the device or to move the arm 15 outwardly, the part m3 is depressed by the weight of the foot as appliedthereto, whereas in opcrating the eocelerator, the toe of the foot is simply pressed downwardly on the portion 004. Otherwise, the structure and operation of the device shown in Fig. 4, is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive.

In Figs. 5 and 6, I have shown another modification wherein a body 22 substantially similar to the body 12 is employed, the body 22 having an internally threaded sleeve 23 with which the accelerator rod 24 is employed. The cross sectional form of the body 22 is U- shaped'and a bar 25 is secured within and to said body and projects at the upper end thereof and is mounted within a lJ-shaped part 26a of afoot piece 26, and is pivoted to said part as seen at 27. The foot piece 26 is actuated in the same manner as the foot piece 17 in Fig. 4 of the drawings and is provided at one side with an upwardly extending lip 26?) similar to the lip 17d.

Vith this construction, the body 22 is movable through the aperture lOa in the support 10, and mounted in connection with said support is a cross bar 28 which transverses the central portion or axis of the aperture 10a, and the free'end of which is-retained in a keeper 28a. This bar passes through elongated apertures 29 in the side walls of the body 22 and serves to key said body in its movement upwardly and downwardly through the aperture 10a in the acceleration operation.

Mounted on two rivets, bolts or the like 30 secured to the body 22 is a lock bar 31, said seat 34 at the lower end of the member '22. The upper end of the bar is rounded as seen at 35 and engages theundersurfaceofthe pedal 26 so that when the forward end 005 of; the pedal is slightly depressed,-the bar 31 will be moved downwardly andlowered inwardly to engage and frictionally or otherwise clamp the cross bar 28 to retain the device in the desired position of adjustment. In the construction, the inner surface of the bar 31, where it'engages the bar 28, is preferably roughened as seen-at 36. p I

l/Vhile the device shown in Fig. 5 is operated reversely to the structure shown in Fig. t, that is to say, the toe is moved downwardly to lock the device, it will'be understood that w by simply inverting the parts, the same movement may be employed as in Fig. 4 to produce the desired operation. At the same time, by arranging the parts at right angles to the structure shown in Fig. 5, a lateral movement of the foot piece as 1n Fig. 1 may accomplish the desired result of retaining the accelerator in different positionsof adjustment.

It will also be understood that while I have shown a few forms of construction for carrying my inventlon into eiiect, that I am not necessarily limited to the structure shown and described, nor am I necessarily limited to any specific use of the broad prin- .ciple of my invention, as the same may be employed for locking aplunger-l1ke member of any kind or class in different positions of adjustment wherever it is desired to accomplish this result, and various other changes in and modifications of the construction herein shown and described may be made within, the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: I

1. An accelerator of the class described comprising a plunger body, a fixed support in connection with which the plunger is -movably mounted, a foot piece pivotally supported in connection with the upper end of said plunger, a lock member movably supported in connection with said plunger and .in operative connection with said foot piece at one side of the pivotal mountlng thereof so that the weight or slight pressure of the foot on said side of the pedal will cause said member to be moved into position to lock .said plunger against movement relatively to the stationary support; in fthe -;difiTere'ntt positionsofadjustment of saidmovement' relatively to said'support, tensional means for normally supporting said lock member.

inv inoperative position, means fonmoving in a plane parallel tothe longitudinal plane of the plunger, and 'said lock memberhaving an irregular gripping surface adapted to engage the stationary support.

-2.;An attachment: for accelerator rods of the class described comprising-a Urshaped, body, means for coupling the accelerator rod. with-said body, a footlpedal pivotallysup ported in connection with the upper end of;

said body and havingportionsextending at opposite sides thereof, a lock member extending longitudinally of. and, arranged within said U-shaped bodyand in operative connection with one extendingside of said.

foot pedal whereby the depression'of said side of the pedal will actuate saidimember, and means for guiding said member tope'r mit of-its movement in a plane parallel to 90... 3. An attachment foraccelerator.rodsuotf thevlongitudinal plane of said body. 1

the class described comprising a U-shaped...

body, means for coupling the accelerator rod I with said body-, a foot "pedal pivotally sup+- ported in connection with the upper end of said body and having portions extending "at; opposite sides thereof, a lock member ex-[ tending longitudinally, of and" arranged within said U-shaped body and inoperative connection with one extendingside of said foot pedal whereby the? depression of saidmeans for. normally. supporting said member in pre'determlne'd,posltion; I

7; 4. An: attachment for accelerator said body and-having portions extending at opposite sides thereof, a lock member "extend ing'longitudinally of and arranged within said U-shaped body and'in" operative connection with one extending side of saidIfoot pedalwhereby the depression of said side ;of

rods of the class described comprising-a U-shaped body,'means for coupling the acceleratorrod, with said body, afoot pedal, pivotally supported in connection with, the upper end of side of the {pedal will actuate saidvinember,imeans for guiding saidmember to permitof I it's'm ovement in a plane parallel to the longitudinal plane of said, body, and 'tensional the pedal will actuate said member, means for guiding said .member to permit of'its movement in a plane paralleltothe longi-v tudinal plane of said body, tensional means for normallysupporting said member in pre- I determined position, and apart adapted to 1 be secured toa stationary. support and-in connection, with which said body and meme ber operate.

5. The combination with an accelerator rod of the class described, of a foot pedal pivotally supported in connection with said 7'0 said lock membergrelatively to the plunger I rod and movable on said pivot by the toe and heel action of a foot resting thereon, said rod being actuated by the heel pressure of the foot means cooperating With said pedal for retaining the rod against movement by the application of toe pressure to said pedal, and said last named means involving a lock member pivotally supported in connection With the pedal and arranged on the toe side of the pedal With respect to said rod.

6. A device of the class described comprising a plunger, a lock bar arranged at one side of the.plunger, said bar and plunger having cooperating beveled surfaces Whereby movement imparted to said bar longitudinally of the plunger Will cause the separation of the said bar and plunger, and means for limiting the separation of said parts and for locking the same against movement relative to said means,

7. A device of the class described comprising a plunger, a lock bar arranged at one side of the plunger, said bar and plunger having cooperating beveled surfaces Whereby movement imparted to said bar longitudinally of the plunger Will cause the separation of said bar and plunger, means for limiting the separation of said parts and for locking the same against movement relative to said means, and a foot pedal pivotally means, a foot pedal pivotally supported in connection With the free end of the plunger and said bar being pivoted to the foot pedal at one side of said plunger, and a spring mounted in connection with the foot pedal and cooperating With said bar to normally maintain the same in engagement With said plunger.

9. The combination With an accelerator rod of a device detachably supported in connection with said rod and comprising a plunger rigid With said rod, a foot pedal pivotally supported in connection With said plunger, a support and guide through Which the plunger is movable and a lock bar pivotally supported at one side of the plunger and movable therewith and independently thereof, and means whereby said lock bar may be moved laterally With respect to the plunger to engage said support and guide to lock the plunger against movement relatively to said support and guide.

10. In combination, a friction device, an

accelerator rod, a foot operated member having operative engagement With said rod and operable to depress the same, a friction member carried by said foot operated member, means causing said friction member to be operated relative to said foot operated member, by rocking of the foot to engage the friction device to lock said foot operated member frictionally against depression, and spring means tending to maintain the friction member in a normal, fixed relation to the foot operated member in Which the friction member is ineffective, and acting automatically to restore the friction member to such ineffective position immediately upon release of foot pressure from the foot operated member so that the foot operated member may rise Without retardation.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name this 8th day of February, 1928.

GEORGE H. TO'WNSEND. 

